A biography for Helen McCroryhasn’t been written yet.
“I spent my teenage years in Paris when my dad was stationed there, and I'd look at women in their forties and think, 'That's the age I want to be.'”
“To be honest, my husband and my children are my best friends.”
“America is such a nation of suppressed emotion, and when you arrive in L.A., you can smell the fear. It's the most alien country I've ever been to.”
“I was a real art freak when I was a teenager.”
“I love dressing up. But I'm very low-maintenance; the week before an event, I'll choose something as quickly as possible and that's that. If I can do my own hair and make-up, even better. I like it to be fun.”
“I use my awards as doorstops. Others are in the office or in little cubbyholes in our library - they go between the books, because they actually look like arty pieces.”
“Childhood has definitely been invented, hasn't it? I think that's because people had children later, and we appreciate and cherish childhood a lot more.”
“I think it's very important not to grow up with the unhealthy amount of attention that is sometimes put on people because they are 'actors'.”
“I'm a very positive person. My grandmother taught me that happiness is both a skill and a decision, and you are responsible for the outcome.”
“The benefits of feminism for someone like my husband are fantastic. He can stay at home with the kids, he can take them to a park, he does the school run.”
“Working in films, there are hundreds of odd moments.”
“So often when you meet child actors, they're weird - they're freaks. No, I mean it, they're really odd people.”
“If I were in politics, I'd make both left and right sit down and make good decisions about national health. It's a huge problem, and it is something we all should be part of.”
“I think I was brought up with an innate sense of responsibility because my dad was in the Foreign Office where you were in somebody else's country, and you were aware of your behaviour. And my mum worked for the NHS, so you were aware of your responsibility to your country.”
“If you think you are beautiful in a scene, you will come across as beautiful. I don't think looks are important; I think what's important is if someone is sexy.”
“I used to say that theatre was my favourite thing. But the more I do film, the more I appreciate it.”
“You don't learn from good people - they've found what works for them and are completely original; you learn from the people who are bad. You think: 'Oh dear, I'm not going to do that.'”
“Appallingly, I hadn't thought about it one jot. I never daydreamed as a little girl of getting married and having children. I was as surprised to discover I was getting married as I was to discover I was up the duff.”
“A script is only as good as the director who's making it.”
“Theatre is liberating because it only works if it's truthful - that's what it requires. That's not true of film: the camera does lie.”